EXTERNAL BATTERY BOX

The external battery box is an expanded power option that allows you to use a 12V lead-acid car battery (not supplied) to increase the runtime of photoSentinel units. It acts as an external power supply providing continuous power to recharge the lithium-ion battery inside the camera housing.

Using the external battery box, a 12V SLA battery can be used on its own as the sole power source, or with the standard photoSentinel solar panel, which allows the SLA battery to recharge.

We recommend the external battery box for use in projects where:

• Solar is available but there is little daylight in winter, e.g. in far north locations;
• A rigorous shooting regime is required (long hours and/or high frequency), and there is no access to AC power; or
• There is no access to solar or AC power (e.g. an underground project).

Specifications

• Fully weatherproof housing with padlock holes for locking.
• Supports Sealed Lead-Acid, AGM and Gel battery types only (does not support Lithium, NiCad, wet cell or other battery types).
• Can house 12V battery up to L:310mm, W:200mm, H:225mm.
• Can utilise up to 40W of solar panel input. Cannot receive AC power input.

Extended battery life will be highly dependant upon a range of variables including cellular signal strength, shooting regime, upload size, and the capacity of the 12V battery used.

By way of example, tests were conducted with a 34Ah 12V lead-acid battery, shooting and uploading a 2.5MB file every five minutes, continuously.